Seal-lock.



No. v695,5I3. Pafented Mar. I8, |902;

T. -S. WHEELWRIGHT.

S A L L C K. (Application 'med Mar. 15, 1899.)

(No Model.)

r I7 i.

the seal in position.

UNrrnD STATES THOMAS S. WHEELWRIGHT, OF HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 695,513, dated March 18,1902.

Application tiled March 15, 1899. Serial No. 709,145. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, THOMAS S. VHEEL- WRIGHT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Highland Park, inthe county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement inSeal-Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification. n

Myinvention relates to seal-locks more particularly designed for use inconnection with cars,but equally'applicable to other purposes, my objectbeing to provide. a novel and effective form of seal-lock adapted to beemployed in connection with a breakable seal.

In accordance with my invention I provide in connection with myseal-lock a seal formed of brittle material, as clayor the like, whichcan be readily broken, `when desired, and I provide the seal in theshape of an elongated bod-y adapted to be secured at the ends in thelock and carrying upon the sides or faces the necessary printed matter,which is applied to the seal. I preferably form the seal with openingsin the ends, with which locking pins or lugs are adapted to engage tolock The lock of my invention in its preferred form comprises a pair ofseal-holding devices adapted to interlock with the opposite ends of theseal, these sealholding devices usually taking the form of pins or lugsadapted yto enter openings provided in the opposite ends of the seal.The seal-holding devices are capable of a movement toward and fromeachother to accommodate the placing fof the seal in position and are alsocapableof a relative movement laterally for the purpose of opening thelock, whereby upon opening the lock the breaking of the seal is insured.One of the seal-holding devices I haveA usually mounted ina sta-vtionary position upon the lock, while the other seal-holding device iscarried upon a plunger adapted to be locked in its inner position tohold the seal in place, the plunger being unlocked and capable ofmovement into its outer position when rotated, this rotation serving tobreak and destroy the seal.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure lis a View of the seal and lock of my invention. Fig. 2 is asectional View thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3, Fig. 2.Fig. et is a viewI of a modification of the lock. Fig.v 5 is a detailedView of the seal.'l Fig. G is a view of a modifica-tion.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several-figures.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 2 a barrel ais provided,whichis secured to the car in any convenient manner-as, for instance, bya shank b, passing through the car-body and secured by a bolt b. Withinthe barrel is a plunger c, above which is a coiled spring c', whichserves to impart to the plunger a downward tendency. The plunger isprovided with a slot c2, with which a dog c3' is adapted to engage, thedog being pressed into engagement by a coiled spring c4. A head c5 isprovided upon the end of the plunger to limit its downward movement.When the plunger is rotated within the barrel, the dog c3 is movedbackward and out of engagementwith theslot, and the plunger beingthusreleased the s rin c serves to move the same downward until the furthermovement is limited by the engagement of the head c5 with the dog c3. Atthe lower end of the plunger a lateral arm c6 is provided,which carriesa locking pin orlug c7.' A lateral arm d' is provided at the upper endof the barrel a, which -carries,

a corresponding locking pin or lug a2. Aseal d of triangularcross-sectionv and provided with a longitudinal bore is adapted to belocked in position betweenl the arms a' c6 by the engagement ofthelocking-pins 1.207 with openings or holes provided in the end of saidseal. The seal is formed of clay or other similar brittle andeasily-broken material, and when the seal is in position, as shown inFig. 2,.the plunger' is locked in its inward position, and the seal isthereby locked between the pinsccl, and the seal cannot be removed norcan the plunger be movedinto its outward position without iirstdestroying the seal.

The hasp c passes over the staple a3, and as the inner face of the sealrests in contact Vwith or a short distance from the end of the staple d3the hasp cannot be removed from the staple until the seal is removedfrom its position.

To unlock the car, therefore, it is necessary to break the seal, andthis in practice is usu- IOO ally done by moving the pin cT laterally byrotating the plunger, usually by grasping the lateral arm cG and forcingthe same to one side. This movement fractures the seal d and completelydestroys the same, so that its further use is prevented. XVhen it isdesired to place a new seal-in position, the plunger is moved toitsouter position and the seal placed between the pins a2 c7, and then theplunger is thrust inward to lock the same, thereby locking the seal inposition. Instead of employing locking-pins adapted to iit into openingsprovided in the ends of the seal any other desired form 0E seal-holdingdevices may be employed for securing the seal in position at the ends;but I preferably employ the construction illustrated, whereinlongitudinal openings are provided in the ends of the seal in whichlocking-pins are adapted to rest. Since the seal is thus broken by meansof pressure applied from within, a -more complete shattering of the sealis secured, and the liability of the seal to break in a manner whichwould permit of the pieces being placed together again is entirelyremoved. As shown in Fig. 5, the name of the road may be printed uponone of the three faces of the seal, while the number of the seal may beplaced upon the other face, the third face being adapted to rest againstthe staple to prevent the removal of the hasp. The openings in the endsofthe seal are preferably of a non-symmetrical cross-section and aremade to conform to locking-pins of similar cross-section, whereby theseal can be placed in only one position. This can be accomplished bymaking, for instance, a triangular hole with two of the faces plane,while the the third is curved. This insures the placing of the seal inposition with the rinted faces toward the front.

The lock above described is particularly adapted to be ixedly secured tothe car.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a form of lock adapted to be used withhasps and staples of the class now commonly in use,wherein a pin issupported from a chain and is adapted to be placed through the staple.In this modification the barrel d carries at the upper end the arm a',upon which is supported a locking-pin d2, and the plunger c is mountedwithin the barrel in the manner above described, with a lateral arm cGcarrying t-he lockingpin c7. The barrel also carries a lateral arm at,having upon the end a pin a5, adapted to be inserted through the staple,and in order to prevent the removal otl the pin a lateral arm cS isprovided at the end of the plunger adapted to rest opposite the end ofthe pin d5 when the seal is in position. The seal is placed between thelocking-pins a2 c7 in the manner above described, and the staple-pin d5is locked in position until the plunger is rotated, and this rotationnecessitates the breaking of the seal.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a modification in which the shank b2 isthreaded and adapted to be screwed into an opening provided in thecar-wall, while the upper end of the barrel d carries a lug b3, throughwhich a screw or nail may be passed to secure the lock against turning.When it is desired; to use the lock with the usual metal seals, themetal. strip may be passed through the slots a and a7, as shown in thisfigure, and the hasp is thus locked in position until the seal isbroken. Moreover, the record on the seal is by this arrangementeffectively maintained in a visible position. The lock may thus be usedinterchangeably with the breakable seal and with the ordinary metalseal.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. In a seal-lock, the combination with a barrel carrying a seal-holdingdevice, of a second seal-holding device adapted to cooperate therewithto hold a breakable seal in position, said second seal-holding devicebeing mounted upon a part which is adapted to rotate relatively to saidbarrel and which is adapted to be moved longitudinally relativelythereto, and a lock for holding said part in position to maintain theseal in the locked position, substantially as described.

2. In a seal-lock, a barrel carrying a sealholding device, a plungerarranged to move therein and carrying a second seal-holding device,between which devices a breakable seal is adapted to be held, and a lockfor holding said plunger iu its inner position until the same is rotatedto separate the seal-holding devices laterally and thereby break theseal, substantially as described.

3. In a seal-lock, a barrel carrying an interlocking pin, a plungermoving therein carrying an interlocking pin, between which interlockingpins a breakable seal is adapted to be held, and a lock for holding saidplunger in its inner positionuntil the same is rotated to separate theinterlocking pins laterally and thereby break the Seal, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a seal-lock, the combination with a breakable seal having openingsin the ends surrounded by fragile and breakable walls, of seal -holdingparts arranged to be approached to engage said openings, a lock forholding said parts in the approached position to lock the seal, andmeans for permitting the relative movement of said parts transverse tothe axis of said seal to break said fragile walls and unlock said parts,substantially as described.

In witness ,whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

THOMAS S. VVIIEELWRIGII'J. lVitnesses:

W. CLYDE JONES, PEROY C. GILL.

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